An Introduction to

Philosophy

What is Philosophy ?

What are your thoughts or ideas?

What is Philosophy ?

• There are many, many definitions of “philosophy”

• Philosophy concerns itself with the most fundamental human questions about reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language

Basic Human Questions

HCOM301

Ancient Evidence of Ideas

More Conventional Early Writing

Indus Script @ 2000 BCE

Phoenician Alphabet 1000 BCE

Plato’s Writing 370 BCE

Tao te ching 300 BCE

Closer to HomeIn Mesoamerica

Mayan Codex@ 500 CE

Mixtec in

Oaxaca@ 1000 CE

Mexica Migration Story@ 1400 CE

Mesoamerican CodexEarly Writing

The Axial Age900-200 BCE

“The spiritual foundations of humanity were laid simultaneously and independently and these are the foundations upon which humanity still subsists today.”

Karl Jaspers, 1949

The Axial Age900-200 BCE

By the Middle Ages500-1500

Human inquiry into higher learning had been divided into just four fields:

1. Theology

2. Medicine

3. Law

4. Philosophy

In fact,

For the past thousand years,

people who study almost any field

at the highest level are awarded

a “Ph. D.”

Doctor of

PhilosophyDegree

Over the centuries…

Broad human inquiry into these basic questions has evolved into some subsets or sub-disciplines within the general field of Philosophy

Branches within Philosophy

Branches within Philosophy• Ontology: what exists, and what is the nature of

reality?• Epistemology: what is knowledge, and how do

we know things?• Ethics: how should we live and behave? What are

right and wrong, moral and immoral?• Logic: what is correct reasoning?• Aesthetics: how are standards for beauty, taste,

humor, comfort arrived at?

Fields of Applied Philosophy

Philosophy of EducationPhilosophy of Politics or GovernmentPhilosophy of ArtPhilosophy of Medicine or Health CarePhilosophy of SciencePhilosophy of BusinessPhilosophy of HistoryEtc.

Focus of HCOM 301

Basic Philosophy• Ontology ☚• Epistemology ☚• Ethics ☚• Logic• Aesthetics

Applied Philosophy Philosophy of Education Philosophy of Politics or

Government Philosophy of Art Philosophy of Medicine or

Health Care Philosophy of Science Philosophy of Business Philosophy of Life ☚ (Worldviews)

Assignment on 8-26